Huang Shan didn't believe this at all.
He knew a little about the Qin family's character, but because they were his wife's family, he didn't want to say anything more for her sake.
However, even if only 10% of this money is spent on his own wife, it will buy enough meat to last for ten days or so, and then he can send more over.
Thinking of this, he didn't say anything, just nodded, and drove the oxcart away.
Qin stared intently at the ever-shrinking, increasingly smaller wiggling bottom, her face filled with longing.
If they had a cow, their family wouldn't be in such a sorry state. Unfortunately, the old man wouldn't allow them to covet the Huang family's property.
She had a faint feeling of regret.
If they hadn't sent their daughter to Qingfeng Temple, perhaps this ox would have belonged to the Qin family.
However, the idea was fleeting.
Although a cow is precious, it's only worth thirty taels of silver. A one-off deal is never as profitable as a more lucrative path.
Given the current situation, my daughter can earn back the cost of the cow in a month of hard work, without causing any gossip, which would be even better.
Huang Shan was unaware of Qin's mother's thoughts.
Returning empty-handed, and under the amused gaze of Sister-in-law Huang, he felt immense pressure and quickly turned to Jiang Nuan, who was sitting beside him, and said, "Second Aunt, help me!"
"It's no use begging your second aunt," Sister-in-law Huang said cruelly. "What happened? Why didn't you bring the person back?"
"Sister-in-law, keep your voice down, you're scaring Dashan," Jiang Nuan said with a smile, trying to smooth things over.
"Serves him right," Sister-in-law Huang said angrily. "He's forgotten his mother now that he has a wife. I'm being nice by not hitting him."
Sister-in-law Huang wanted to give Qin a hard time and set some rules for her, but her son couldn't stand it and insisted on going to pick her up.
Seeing him return empty-handed, she was secretly pleased.
“Mother, your son didn’t come back.” Huang Shan explained, “My mother-in-law said my wife is sick and can’t get out of bed, so your son had to come back alone.”
"What happened? What illness does the child have? Have you seen a doctor?"
Even though she didn't like this daughter-in-law, Sister-in-law Huang didn't want anything to happen to her.
“I didn’t see her,” Huang Shan said, touching his nose. “My mother-in-law said my wife doesn’t want me to see her looking ugly.”
"How pretentious! You're even being dramatic with your own man. Alright, alright," Sister-in-law Huang waved her hand impatiently. "The latrine is full. Go and compost it."
"I'll go compost it?" After a pause, Huang Shan replied dejectedly, "Okay."
Knowing he had upset his mother, Huang Shan didn't say much and just buried himself in his work.
After Huang Shan left, Sister-in-law Huang continued the conversation, "Ya Ya, can cold-weather melons really grow in sandy soil?"
"Yes, it's possible, and the yield is very high, even greater than growing grain. If you plant some together, I'll get more melon seedlings."
"How is it possible that the harvest is even larger than the grain harvest?"
Cold melons, while not exactly rare, are still considered precious, especially the large, sweet, and crisp ones.
The main reason is that the yield is too low, and it needs a lot of water, so it needs to be watered every few days. If you are not careful, it will dry out and die.
Even so, every household would plant a few in their private plots to earn some money in the summer.
Farmers can eat this or not, but city dwellers can't live without it.
Summer is hot and dry, and without a cooling melon to relieve the heat, those delicate city dwellers simply cannot stand it.
"Don't worry, sister-in-law. I'm 80% sure I can do it. Anyway, sandy land doesn't produce much grain. Let's give it a try."
“I didn’t say I wouldn’t agree, I was just too shocked,” Sister Huang said, holding Jiang Nuan’s hand. “Yaya, if what you said is true, our village is really going to prosper.”
Although winter melons are juicy, they are priced the same as white rice. If they were grown in sandy areas, they would yield more than grains, which would truly be a turnaround for the industry.
“Really, but,” Jiang Nuan reminded her, “planting cold melons is a technical job. You have to do it my way before I can give you instructions. It might conflict with our previous methods, so you have to listen to me.”
According to Jiang Nuan, the reason why cold melons are so expensive is because the yield is too low; on average, only one melon will be grafted out of three or four seedlings.
At the time, she found it unbelievable, but later she realized that being able to produce this much was already a blessing from God.
No pollination, no pinching of flowers, no pinching of heads, just drop the seeds and leave them alone, only watering them and doing nothing else, like herding sheep. If they bear fruit, it's a blessing from heaven.
After staying in Huangjiakou for a while, Jiang Nuan came to understand the farmers' mindset: no matter what they plant, they should plant as much as possible, the more the better.
Because, logically speaking, the more you plant, the more crops you grow, and the greater your harvest.
In fact, this intensive planting has actually led to a reduction in crop yields.
But they are incredibly stubborn.
This is why Jiang Nuan spoke frankly about the unpleasant aspects upfront.
"It's alright, I'll do whatever you say. Sandy land isn't good for growing anything anyway, so it doesn't matter if you mess it up. You can take it and play with it."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Nuan couldn't help but laugh.
Even though she knew the people at the old house doted on her, she was still frightened by those words.
Three acres of sandy land, and he just casually lets himself play with it, that's quite a big deal.
Don't assume that sandy land is worthless and that farmers won't care. On the contrary, anything that is even remotely related to crops is the lifeblood of farmers.
The output of sandy land is low, but it has one advantage: it is not taxed, and all the grain harvested is its own. At the end of the year, it can supplement the family's food supply.
Sister-in-law Huang's decisiveness was far beyond Jiang Nuan's expectations.
"Then I'll thank you for your trust, sister-in-law," Jiang Nuan said with a smile. "Don't worry, sister-in-law, as long as you do as I say, the three acres of winter melons will definitely be enough to earn enough for several months' worth of food."
In later generations, watermelons could easily yield 5,000 catties per mu (a Chinese unit of area, approximately 0.165 acres).
Even if it were discounted by half in this era, it would still weigh 2,500 jin. At three wen per jin, three mu of land could yield more than twenty liang.
More than twenty taels, enough for a year's worth of chewing.
Unfortunately, you can only make quick money; at most, in three years, the watermelons won't fetch a good price anymore.
"No need to thank me, it's not a big deal," Sister-in-law Huang waved her hand. "If you want to do it, just do it. I'll talk to your brother later and see if anyone in the village is willing to join in."
"I don't think so," Jiang Nuan said hesitantly. "Even family members don't really believe such things, let alone outsiders."
When Jiang Nuan mentioned this matter at the Huang family's house, everyone except Han Qi, who had a mysterious confidence in her, remained skeptical.
It's not that I don't trust my own mother, but I think this is too far-fetched.
Even the best fertile land yields only 500 catties per mu (a Chinese unit of area, approximately 0.165 acres) of cold melons. Jiang Nuan suddenly said that cold melons could yield 2,000 catties per mu, which completely shattered their understanding.
Sister-in-law Huang didn't quite believe it either, but Jiang Nuan had been acting very steadily lately and wasn't the kind of unreliable person. Besides, the three acres of sandy land really couldn't yield any grain, so she let Jiang Nuan do whatever she wanted.
"Let's ask around," Sister-in-law Huang also thought it was unlikely, "otherwise, if it really can be sold for money, those people will blame us for hiding it."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com